Do indicators work?

When I started trading a while back, like most people starting out I first looked at and build strategies using moving averages, simple , exponential, crossover etc. Then after several years moved on to MACD, which I think is much superior to ma systems. I finally settled on simple range breakout systems. In all my backtesting w/ multiyear data, simple range breakout systems consistently beat other strategies which utilize indicators.

I also believe entry although important, only plays a small role in the success of a system. Other parts like deciding which mkt to trade, what timeframe to trade (2 min, 5 min, 15 min etc), how many contracts/shares to trade, exits(very important imo), stop loss etc play a much greater role.

I am not attacking the validity of indicators just sharing that they haven't work for me ( maybe I am doing something worg).

Wondering what indicators do others use to build their trading systems? Also how do put together your strategy, what are some of the components?

indicators are just an easier way to visualize what price is doing. they are not magic. i believe that for an entry indicator to work well it has to have a following. by that i mean enough people have to be watching that indicator and acting on it to make it useful.

When I started trading a while back, like most people starting out I first looked at and build strategies using moving averages, simple , exponential, crossover etc. Then after several years moved on to MACD, which I think is much superior to ma systems. I finally settled on simple range breakout systems. In all my backtesting w/ multiyear data, simple range breakout systems consistently beat other strategies which utilize indicators.

I also believe entry although important, only plays a small role in the success of a system. Other parts like deciding which mkt to trade, what timeframe to trade (2 min, 5 min, 15 min etc), how many contracts/shares to trade, exits(very important imo), stop loss etc play a much greater role.

I am not attacking the validity of indicators just sharing that they haven't work for me ( maybe I am doing something worg).

Wondering what indicators do others use to build their trading systems? Also how do put together your strategy, what are some of the components?

1. All pre PC defaults have to be corrected.
2. If possible indicators should be converted from relative to absolute
3. indicators are best made into vectors
4. indicators should be modified (in interpertation) to get signals that are leading instead of lagging.

Stand alone indicators ar the least effective for making money.

The most effective strategies use a minimum set of components that will, in their sequence of signals, accurately yield, in advance, all flaws related to the possible continuation and rate of the contemporary money velocity under way.

To optimize performance, the only focus required is to iteratively refine signal sequence quality. This is the only place the rubber meets the road. Given observable sequences, decision making is derived from positive corroberation of signals and negative assessments of flaws that intervene, concurrently, risk is not a static pre-trade possible assertainment and must be continually handled with dynamic ongoing prescription related only to the market and not capital, action is always in response to the dynamic market condition which is defined continually. There is, as a consequence, almost no time in which money cannot be made as related to the required periodicity of assessment.

Any thing that is not understood, requires, as a consequence, limiting the application of capital that is at risk in the market. The first assessment of a trader is how much capital they allow themselves to risk. If they risk , then they appreciate capital at a resultant rate of return. If a person is a looser,then they do not understand the minimum to be able to trade. If an algorithm reaches a steady state money velocity, then it's utility limits the application of capital (saturation of the market vis a vis the algorithm). Because application of capital is in discrete amounts ictated by share amounts and contract amounts, there are breakpoints over time in the ever increasing ROI.

When I started trading a while back, like most people starting out I first looked at and build strategies using moving averages, simple , exponential, crossover etc. Then after several years moved on to MACD, which I think is much superior to ma systems. I finally settled on simple range breakout systems. In all my backtesting w/ multiyear data, simple range breakout systems consistently beat other strategies which utilize indicators.

You just did not find the right set of indicators yet. Do not make FINAL decision in everchanging circumstances.

I also believe entry although important, only plays a small role in the success of a system.

You are definitely not serious here.

Other parts like deciding which mkt to trade, what timeframe to trade (2 min, 5 min, 15 min etc), how many contracts/shares to trade, exits(very important imo), stop loss etc play a much greater role.

You made up your mind but you are wrong. Time frame and size is a definitely part of a entry decision.

I am not attacking the validity of indicators just sharing that they haven't work for me ( maybe I am doing something worg).

Wondering what indicators do others use to build their trading systems? Also how do put together your strategy, what are some of the components?

When you designing system you have to go step by step and keep yourself better organized. It looks like you are throwing away stuff you barely took look at.